Cavaliers win Pearland Tournament, take over No. 2 spot in national volleyball rankings.

Dominating in one of the largest tournaments in the country, the Lake Travis Cavaliers showed that they are the team to beat in Texas this season.

The defending 4A state champions have yet to lose a set this season and came out on top of the 84-team field at the Pearland Classic. Along the way, Lake Travis topped defending 3A state champion Lovejoy as well as highly ranked 5A foes Cypress Woods and College Park.

The championship allows Lake Travis to move to the No. 2 spot in the rankings behind defending national champ Papillion-LaVista South, which has yet to play a game this season.

Six new teams entered the rankings this week, including two from California and three from Texas. Los Alamitos and Dos Pueblos open the season as the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams in the Southern Section coaches rankings. Meanwhile College Park, Cypress Woods and Boyd all finished among the top teams at the Pearland Classic to gain entry this week.

The only other newcomer is Benet, which defeated the previous No. 1 team in Illinois, York, in the finals of the Benet Invitational.

2. (4) Lake Travis (Austin, Texas), 26-0The Cavaliers have yet to drop a set this season and looked impressive in winning the Pearland Classic over the weekend. Lake Travis topped Lovejoy 25-12, 25-13, in the quarterfinals and then knocked off Cypress Woods in the semifinals and College Park in the championship game.

3. (2) Berkeley Prep (Tampa, Fla.), 2-0The Buccaneers opened the season with a preseason tournament, picking up a pair of 3-1 wins over Fort Myers and Venice. Berkeley Prep's first regular season game is slated for Sept. 6 at home against Palm Harbor University.

5. (6) Mercy (Louisville, Ky.), 5-0Mercy is off to a strong start with shutout wins over St. Henry, Newport Central Catholic, Christian Academy Louisville, Male and Portland Christian. A big test comes at home against Assumption on Sept. 6.

8. (9) Cardinal Gibbons (Raleigh, N.C.), 1-0The Crusaders opened the season last week with a 3-0 win over Ravenscroft. A big match looms with defending 4A champion Apex on Sept. 7.

9. (10) Muncie Burris (Ind.), 4-0The Owls are off to a 4-0 start and won their 91st match in a row with a 3-2 triumph over Indianapolis Cathedral on Wednesday. MaxPreps Preseason All-American Taylor Morey leads the team in kills with 65.

10. (14) Assumption (Louisville, Ky.), 4-0The Rockets have yet to drop a game in beating Presentation, Indianapolis Cathedral, Henry Clay and St. Henry. Assumption travels to take on Mercy on Sept. 6.

11. (21) Bishop Kelley (Tulsa, Okla.), 12-0The Comets begin the season with 12 straight wins, including a championship at the Broken Arrow Invitational over the weekend. Wins to date include a pair of victories over the top-ranked 5A school in the state, Cascia Hall.

12. (25) Avon (Ind.), 9-0Avon starts the season with nine straight wins including a 3-0 finish at its own Avon Invitational that included 2-0 wins over Greenwood Community, South Vigo (Terre Haute) and Perry Meridian. Beth Prince leads the team with 67 kills.

16. (15) Carroll (Southlake, Texas), 20-1The Dragons captured first place at the Arlington Invitational with a victory over Bishop Lynch in the Gold Bracket. Caitlin Nolan earned tournament MVP honors. Carroll's only loss is to Lovejoy.

17. (NR) Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.), 6-0Benet moved into the top spot in the Illinois state rankings by the Chicago Tribune after winning its own invitational over previous state No. 1 York. Benet also knocked off St. Charles East and Lyons.

19. (23) St. James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.), 1-0The Thunder began the year at the Metro Classic with a 25-8, 25-9 win over Topeka Hayden in a rematch of last year's 4A state championship matchup. Hayden was ranked No. 2 in the state preseason rankings entering the match. Annie Reilly had 11 kills for the Thunder.

20. (24) Aiken (S.C.), 0-0The Fighting Green Hornets open the defense of their South Carolina state championship against Greenbrier today.

21. (NR) Los Alamitos (Calif.), 0-0The Griffins begin the season ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section rankings. They open their season Thursday at home against Wilson (Long Beach, Calif.).

Photo by Mike Bouffard

Tristan Racich, Dos Pueblos

22. (NR) Dos Pueblos (Goleta, Calif.), 8-0Ranked No. 2 in the Southern Section to open the season, Dos Pueblos went 8-0 to win the Foothill Queen's Court Tournament with a win over Laguna Beach in the finals.

23. (NR) College Park (The Woodlands, Texas), 15-4The Cavaliers have losses to Coppell, McKinney Boyd and Cypress Woods from the Duncanville Tournament, but College Park avenged the loss to McKinney Boyd and finished ahead of both Coppell and Cypress Woods at the Pearland Tournament, falling to Lake Travis in the finals.

24. (NR) Cy-Woods (Cypress, Texas), 21-4The Wildcats lost only to Lake Travis at the Pearland tournament and had a win over San Antonio Johnson and defending 5A state champion Hebron. Cy-Woods has an earlier win over College Park.

25. (NR) Boyd (McKinney, Texas), 19-3Has two losses to Southlake Carroll and College Park. Also has a win over College Park and finished fifth at the Pearland Tournament.